May 2010. Stephanie died peacefully on 19th April after a short stay in hospital. She had been suffering from acute cervical cancer. Fred will continue to run the business to the best of his ability. The web site is slowly getting under control again
as he tries to take over some of Stephanie's responsibilities, and learns some of the mysteries of Dreamweaver.

Introduction.
There are not many equipment manufacturers who made, or at least had
their name on, both still and cine equipment. Kodak did, of course,
as did Agfa, Canon and Minolta. Some still cameras, like the Canon
Dial, were sold in America as a Bell and Howell, but Bell and Howell
are best-known for their cine equipment. Rollei and Nikon both had
their names on cine equipment, but are better known for their outstandingly
good still cameras. Leitz made the Leicina cine cameras and Cinovid
cine projectors which are high quality and still popular, but they
made a very limited range. The only other big company which springs
to my mind is Zeiss Ikon, who made some of the first 16 mm. cine cameras
in the 1930s, made the stylistically unusual Movikon and Movinette
Standard-8 cameras and then went on to make the Super-8 Moviflex cameras.
They also made the Super Ikonta, Ikonta, Ikoflex, Contax, Contaflex,
Nettax and many others, for 120, 127, 126 and 35 mm. film, and highly
collectable today. So, this month, a quick look at a few of the many
products of Zeiss Ikon.

Movikon
8. Introduced in 1953, the Zeiss Ikon Movikon
is instantly recognisable, although many people are fooled by the
styling into thinking that it is a still camera despite the large
winding key to one side of the lens. It is a Standard-8 cine camera
which carries the feed spool and take-up spool to the left and right
of the lens; a horizontal arrangement where a vertical arrangment
is more usual. This introduces a twist in the film before the gate
and another after the gate, yet this camera seems no more prone to
jamming than any other. It is fitted with a Movitar f/1.9 10 mm. lens
which focuses to 8 inches. It has a direct vision viewfinder, and
the clockwork motor gives 16 f.p.s and single frame. The first versions
of the camera have a brown crackle enamel body, but this version not
seen in the UK; most UK cameras have the more familiar grey body.
Development of the camera continued, with more speeds being added
for example, until in 1958 the new Movikon 8B was announced at the
Cologne Photokina. In 1953, the Movikon 8 cost about £66 including
over £16 pounds purchase tax. The following year, tax changes
reduced the price to £54 including the tax. Picture
(brown) Picture
(grey)

Contaflex
126. Zeiss Ikon was the first camera company
to introduce a reflex 126 camera into the UK. The Contaflex 126, despite
its name, is not compatible with other Contaflex cameras and the lenses
made for the 126 cameras cannot be used on the 35 mm. cameras. The
camera was launched in 1967. It has an automatic shutter priority
exposure meter, using t.t.l. CdS metering. The reflex finder has a
split-screen rangefinder and gives a good, bright image. This is the
only Contaflex s.l.r. to be fitted with a focal plane shutter, although
the legendary Contaflex t.l.r. also has a focal plane shutter. The
camera does not have an instant return mirror, and while I can name
some excellent cameras with this "feature", (e.g. the Hasselblad 500C),
I do find it irritating when I'm using the camera, which I do sometimes.
The lenses are fully interchangeable, again a departure from Contaflex
s.l.r. practice, which has interchangeable front elements. The camera
was supplied with a choice of 45 mm. f/2.8 Color Pantar (£128
in 1969) or 45 mm. f/2.8 Tessar (£138 in 1969). Additional lenses
were : 32 mm. f/2.8 Zeiss Distagon (about £85 in 1969); 85 mm.
f/2.8 Zeiss Sonnar (about £69 in 1969); 135 mm. f/4 Zeiss Tele
Tessar (about £67 in 1969). This camera was available for quite
a long time (for a 126 reflex!). It was discontinued in about 1971,
but it is the easiest of the 126 reflex cameras to find second-hand.
The lenses are most easily found with a camera, so if you want lenses,
hold out for an outfit. However, if you are wanting to use the camera,
I understand 126 film is to be discontinued at the end of 1999, so
best not hang around.

Super Nettel.
Introduced in 1934, the Super Nettel is one of those interesting cameras
which is in the shadow of other Zeiss Ikon cameras, and so it does
not get the attention it deserves. It is a 35 mm. camera with a coupled
co-incident image rangefinder and focal plane shutter. The camera
was supplied with a choice of three non-interchangeable lenses; Zeiss
Triotar f/3.5 50 mm. (£18 12s. 6d./£18.62 in 1935); Zeiss
Tessar f/3.5 50 mm. (£22 5s./£22.25 in 1935); Zeiss Tessar
f/2.8 50 mm. (£24 15s./£24.75 in 1935). Zeiss Ikon claimed
the camera was an offshoot of the Super Ikonta development but the
camera has more in common with the Contax, including the shutter.
Made of metal slats held together with silk, Zeiss Ikon claimed the
metal would never deteriorate. Sadly, the same cannot be said of the
silk, and these cameras cannot be recommended for use because of the
frequently fragile state of the silk. In 1936, the Super Nettel II
was introduced. This is essentially a deluxe version of the Nettel,
with the f/2.8 Tessar lens, and a luxury finish featurng satin chrome
top-plate, base-plate and lens cover. Personally, I prefer the look
of the original Nettel. In 1936 the Super Nettel II cost £28
2s. (£28.10). Neither camera seems to have been offered in Britain
for very long; the Super Nettel II disappears in about 1937, and the
outbreak of war in 1939 stopped all German camera imports. Both cameras
are hard to find in the U.K.

The above items have been adapted from Classic
Camera Magazine articles on Zeiss Ikon. All
back numbers are available from F. and S. Marriott.

Contaflex 126 - Classic Camera Magazine issue
19

Contaflex Accessories - Classic Camera Magazine
issue 25

Servicing a Contaflex Super - Classic Camera Magazine
issue 24

Contina 526/24 - Classic Camera Magazine issue
2

Ikoflex I - Classic Camera Magazine issue 28

Movikon and Movinette cine cameras - Classic Camera
Magazine issue 7

Super Ikontas (11/12 on 120) - Classic Camera
Magazine issue 9

Super Nettel - Classic Camera Magazine issue 30

Contaflex s.l.r. cameras - Classic Camera Magazine
issue 23

Zeiss Ikon in 1938 - Classic Camera Magazine issue
21

Note: I like to give price information in both sterling and American
dollars. However, this information is not always available to
me, in which case I use whichever I can get. I do not convert
from one currency to the other; market conditions vary and camera
prices were often very different in the U.S.A. and Britain, so
conversion would not give an accurate picture.